Nine Days
by unfinishe
Summary: Nine days is a long time when you're trying to find a killer. And not just any killer: the killer of your agent. The killer of Dr. Spencer Reid. WARNING: MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH! On permanent hiatus. Sorry guys, I'm not coming back to it!
1. Prologue

**Nine Days**

**Summary: While dealing with the death of one of their own, the BAU hunts down his killer.**

**Disclaimer: Criminal Minds doesn't belong to me, even though I wish it did… Oh, by the way, Daniel Ryene is mine.**

**Warnings: Main Character Death**

**A/N: You'll see where the name comes from toward the end of the chapter.**

* * *

"_The boundaries which divide life from death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where one ends, and the other begins?"_ **--** **Edgar Alan Poe**

**Prologue: Dead Men Tell No Tales**

There are a million ways to die.

There are numerous diseases that have been discovered as deadly, not to mention the medications that go with them. Spencer Reid would have been able to tell you how many.

Humans kill too. Guns, weapons, sometimes just a good kick in the right spot could kill you. Spencer Reid would have been able to tell you how.

Spencer Reid could have told you a million things, but he wasn't telling anything right now. He wouldn't be telling anything ever again.

It was a stupid day to hold a funeral, Aaron Hotchner reflected, standing with his team (minus one) in a nearly empty cemetery. The birds were chirping, the flowers were blooming, bees buzzed in the air, and it was the middle of spring.

_What a stupid day,_ Hotch thought gloomily. _It's a bit ironic, isn't it? Shouldn't it be dark, cloudy? Shouldn't it be raining?_

He half-hoped it would. It would give him one more excuse to hate the world.

Spencer Reid shouldn't have died with a gun in his hand. Spencer Reid probably shouldn't have died at all, but it was too late for that. Spencer Reid should have died in a nursing home, old and still smarter than everyone else. Spencer Reid should have died in his sleep.

But the world doesn't work out that way.

On that day, no one was happy. On that day, no member of the BAU managed to forget who was missing. No one forgot that it had been exactly twelve days, eleven hours, and sixteen minutes since the death of the smartest member of their team had died (but who's counting? Certainly not Morgan.).

It had been exactly ten days, four hours, and five minutes since they had known that Spencer Reid was dead. It had been exactly nine days, fourteen hours, and twenty-seven minutes since they had known that Spencer Reid had murdered.

It had been exactly nine days, fourteen hours, and twenty-six minutes since Aaron Hotchner had sworn to himself that he would find Spencer Reid's killer, no matter what.

Nine days, fourteen hours, and twenty-six minutes can seem like a long time. It can seem even longer when you're trying to keep a promise that's almost impossibly to keep.

How do you solve a case with no witnesses, no clues, no evidence?

How do you solve a case where your agent, your brilliant, scrawny little photographic memory genius boy, is the victim?

Hotch had no answers. Yet.

**A/N: Well that was depressing. That might just be the most depressing thing I've ever written. Normally my chapters are longer, too.**

**Anyway, this is my first venture into the world of Criminal Minds FanFiction. Tell me what you think, and if I should continue!**

**Off to take over the world,**

**Crazy Girl**


	2. Chapter 1

**Nine Days**

**A/N: Wow! I'm amazed at the response already! Normally it takes my stories a little to get this popular, if they ever do. So, three things. First, thanks to everyone who added me to their alerts list! Thanks!**

**And second, there were a couple people who wanted to know if Reid was actually dead, or if he was just going undercover or something. Sorry to all the Reid fans (he's my fave too), but he really is dead. This was an annoying plot bunny that wouldn't go away until I wrote it.**

**Third, I know I promised some people that the update would be posted on Monday, but I couldn't, and here's why. On Sunday, I finished proofreading the new chapter, but then I had to go clean and I put my flash drive in my pocket. Unfortunately, I somehow misplaced my flash drive (which had the new chapter on it), and so I had to retype the chapter. --' Anyway, here's the new one.**

**Chapter 1**

"This sucks."

Morgan's words echoed through the air. No one seemed to acknowledge them. Other than their quiet breathing, no sounds pierced the air surrounding the BAU and their technical analyst.

Nobody said anything. It was as if Morgan hadn't spoken. They were all lost in their own thoughts, their own whirlwind mess of confusing, hard to follow, thoughts.

'_I need to do something,'_ Hotch thought. _'I need to say something. Now, before they give up.'_

It took him a few moments to find the right words. And even then, it didn't come out the way he wanted it to.

"We need to find him."

It was still quiet. JJ and Prentiss both looked stunned. Morgan and Rossi just looked like they couldn't believe it. Like they didn't want to believe it.

"Come on," Hotch said. He stood up, finally earning their attention. "We need to find the killer."

Every agent in that room stared at him as if they had no idea what he was talking about, but Hotch continued on, obliviously staring away from his team.

"At least look over the case file again," Hotch said. The word _again_ wasn't used lightly. They had all seen the details of the case plastered over every newspaper in the area. _'FBI agent killed in homicide.' 'FBI agent killed in own home.'_ And the file, well, they had all seen _that_ enough. They practically knew the details of the case by heart. They didn't really need to open the folder with the details inside again.

Morgan, who hadn't seemed to be as frozen as the others, was the first one to speak. His voice was shaky as he opened the folder **(1)**, revealing the neat print inside. He quietly began to read.

"26 year old Caucasian male, brown hair, brown eyes **(2)**," Morgan read quietly. His eyes never once left the folder in front of him. "Name…" Here, Morgan's voice wavered more that it had, but he finally managed to say, "Doctor Spencer Reid."

A muffled noise came from JJ's side of the table. Hotch glanced over at her, but didn't say anything.

At this point, Rossi took over the narration. "Killed in own home, suspected homicide." He dropped the folder on the table. It skidded a bit before coming to a halt.

"What else do we know that isn't in the file?" Hotch asked.

"The killer shot him twice in the stomach, but then felt the need to shoot him in the head," Rossi observed. "What does _that_ tell us?"

"He's either unsure of his abilities, or he's had a victim get away from him before," Hotch said grimly.

There was silence for a moment. _'If it's the second one, then Reid wasn't one of the lucky ones,'_ Hotch thought.

There was silence for a moment.

"There were no signs of forced entry, so Reid either let the guy in, or he was already there when Reid got home," Morgan said.

"Neighbors reported no disturbances," Rossi pointed out.

"Reid was smart," Prentiss said. "He wouldn't let just anyone in. He saw enough crime scenes to know what happens when you do that. If he let the guy in, he knew him."

"Which would indicate a hate crime," Hotch said, turning to face the team.

"What if he wasn't _inside_ when Reid got there?" Morgan asked, looking up. Hotch, Prentiss, Rossi, and JJ stared at him in surprise.

"What if the guy was waiting for him, but not _inside_ Reid's apartment?" Morgan clarified. "He could have been waiting for him _outside_, but made himself look as inconspicuous as possible so as to not attract attention. He could have been anyone. Some janitor, a night guard, anyone. So he waits for Reid to go inside, and then he jumps him, and closes the door behind him."

"It's possible," Hotch said. "If Morgan's right, then it might not have been a hate crime. This _could_ be the work of a serial killer."

"I'll tell Garcia to see if any cases from the past match this one," JJ said.

"Good," Hotch said. "The rest of you, come with me. We're gonna check Reid's apartment again."

The FBI, as well as state police, had been through the apartment more than once, but the BAU had avoided the apartment for as long as they could. Hotch knew that they didn't want to face any of it.

The door was closed, and Hotch knew that it would be locked, but he had the key.

The group walked up to the door, and Hotch pulled out the key, opening the door quietly. They ducked through the police tape set across the door, and hurried inside.

Hotch took a deep breath before looking around. There was dried blood on the carpet in two places. _'His head and stomach,'_ Hotch thought. He felt his stomach heave, and he turned away. _'Oh, God. How are we going to do this?'_

Prentiss and JJ had stopped in the doorway, and were both looking uncomfortable. Rossi was standing at Hotch's shoulder, and Hotch exchanged a glance with him.

Morgan however, plowed through all of them, as if they weren't there. He stopped and turned halfway around to look at them. "Are you just gonna stand there?" he demanded. "Or are you gonna let Reid's killer get away with this crap."

Hotch took a deep breath. "We're coming," he said, his voice shaky. "Just give us a minute."

Morgan hesitated, but finally spoke. "All right," he said finally. "I'm gonna start looking."

Hotch nodded and turned to the two women on the team. "How are you?" he asked.

"Fine," Prentiss said, her voice faint. "Just… You know. It's this place. Reid… Reid _died_ here."

"It's not right," JJ whispered.

"We're going to fix it," Rossi said firmly. "Whoever did this won't live for much longer after we catch him. After that, it's over."

"Hotch." Morgan's voice came from behind him, and Hotch turned.

"What is it?" he asked.

Morgan hesitated before speaking. "Hotch… We've got a problem."

Hotch blinked. "What?" he asked.

"Hotch…" Morgan hesitated again. "There's nothing at all that could incriminate whoever did this."

Hotch's eyes widened. "How is that possible?"

Morgan shook his head. "Nothing. Reid's bed is made, the garbage's been taken out… There's no visible evidence of anything. It's almost like…"

"No, Morgan, it is _not_ almost like," Hotch interrupted. Because he knew what Morgan was going to say. And Reid wouldn't kill himself.

**A/N: I NEED A BETA! BADLY! I'm new to the fandom, and I would REALLY like someone to beta the story for me. If you would like to be my beta, PLEASE review and tell me! I'll tell you who the beta is in the next update. Thanks!**

**Off to take over the world,**

**Crazy Girl**


	3. Chapter 2

**Nine Days**

**A/N: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! I'm SOOO sorry about the wait! Of course, as soon as I get the new chapter posted, my laptop got a virus (or a million XD) so I had NO access to a computer! Soooooorrry! From now on I WILL UPDATE EVERY MONDAY! (Hopefully...)**

**In other news, my new beta is BeingDazzledByEdward! Let's give her a big round of applause!  
**

**Chapter 2  
**

"Ma'am, are you absolutely sure that you heard nothing?"

The elderly lady standing in front of Hotch scowled. "Yes, I am sure," she snapped. "I've told you a thousand times! I didn't hear a thing that night."

"I'm sorry we had to ask you again," Hotch said, nodding to her. "But we were just confirming what the police already knew."

"You think I had any reason to lie to them?" demanded the woman.

"No ma'am," Hotch said. "I'm sorry for the trouble."

As she slammed the door shut, Hotch could have sworn he heard the woman mutter, "Never even liked him, anyway."

Hotch turned away. Not far down the hall, Emily was talking to a man in his late thirties.

"I know the police already spoke to you about this once," she said calmly, "but we just wanted to confirm it. Did you hear anything out of the ordinary that night?"

The man shook his head sadly. "No," he said. "I'm sorry."

"Did you see Dr. Reid come home?" she asked. The title sounded strange on her lips. They were all so used to calling Reid by his last name. Hotch felt a heavy weight descend onto his shoulders.

The man looked thoughtful. "I was coming home around the time he got back," he said finally.

Emily flashed Hotch a hopeful look, and he hurried to stand beside her.

"Did you see anything out of the ordinary?" he asked. "Was his behavior off? Was there a new janitor? Anything?"

As if he regretted saying anything in the first place, the man's eyes grew sad. "No," he said, looking genuinely sorry. "I didn't know him well enough to know if he was acting strangely, and the hall was completely empty."

Hotch looked away without saying anything. He barely heard Emily say, "Well, thank you for your help. Please, call us if you remember anything."

The man nodded. "I really am sorry. I only wish..."

"Don't worry about it," Emily said. "Thank you again."

Hotch followed her away to go find Rossi.

They found him speaking to a woman with long pale blond hair. As they walked up, she was saying, "...called the police and knocked on the door to check on him."

Rossi spotted them and waved them over. "This is Faith Walters," he said, gesturing to the woman. "She was the one who called in to report the gunshots. Ms. Walters, these are Agents Aaron Hotchner and Emily Prentiss."

"Hi," Faith said. She shook both their hands.

"Ms. Walters was just telling me what happened that night," Rossi went on. "Ms. Walters, would you mind telling them what you told me?"

Faith smiled. "Just call me Faith," she said. "And not at all. I had just gotten home from work and I was eating dinner when I heard the gunshots. I ran outside to see what was going on and several of the other people who live here were already outside. Everyone wanted to know what was going on, and I happened to notice that Dr. Reid's door was the only one closed. I went over to check on him, but no one answered the door. When nobody answered after several knocks, I called the police." Faith wrapped her arms around her chest. "Somebody killed him, didn't they? The police wouldn't tell us, but I could tell."

Rossi and Hotch exchanged a glance. After a moment's hesitation, Hotch said, "We think so."

Faith nodded. "I thought so," she whispered. "Well if that's all…"

Rossi nodded. "Thank you for your help," he said. Faith nodded again and walked back into her apartment, closing the door firmly behind her.

Hotch, Rossi, and Emily walked away, conversing quietly. "What does _that_ tell us?" Prentiss muttered.

"For one," Rossi said, "we know he couldn't have come through the door. Someone would have noticed him. He must have escaped through the window."

Hotch frowned.

"You think otherwise?" Rossi asked.

"This group is exceptionally unobservant," Hotch said. "He could have easily slipped out the door and none of them would have noticed."

"Faith said she was out here as soon as she heard the shots," Rossi said doubtfully. "She probably would have noticed if someone had left the room."

"He's right," Emily pointed out.

Hotch frowned. "I don't know," he said. "He was smart enough for no one to notice him coming in. Why should anyone have noticed him coming out?"

Rossi frowned as well. "Just because he's good one way doesn't mean he's good another way. We should ask everyone if they saw anyone come out."

"They would have reported something like that," Hotch snapped.

"Just let us try," Emily said. She stared at him patiently. "You said yourself, we have to do everything we can to catch this guy."

"Fine," Hotch said impatiently. "But get Morgan and JJ to help you. And don't take too long."

He turned and stalked away, his hands clenching and unclenching into fists repeatedly, a clear sign of the turmoil being felt inside.

Emily glanced over at Rossi. "That wasn't supposed to happen," she murmured, watching Hotch's retreating form.

"No," Rossi agreed. "It wasn't." He placed a hand on Prentiss's shoulder. "Don't worry. He's just stressed because it was…"

"Reid," Emily finished quietly.

"Yeah," Rossi said. "He'll get over it."

"I hope so," Emily whispered.

**A/N: Again, I'm REALLY sorry for the wait! Won't happen again! … Maybe. I'll try really hard, anyway.**

**Off to take over the world,**

**Crazy Girl**


	4. Chapter 3

**Nine Days**

**A/N: AGH!!! Again, sorry for the wait! My laziness overtook me. . From now on, I'll update on Wednesdays instead. That's actually a better day for me. SOOOORRRY! Btw, **_italics_ **is dream world/thoughts, and BOLD is emphasis. Just wanted to clear that up.**

**Thanks to BeingDazzledByEdward for her awesome beta services! A pat on the back for her!**

**BN: Aww. So sweet. Snaps for Crazy Girl for writing this AWESOME chapter. Enjoy Guys. :)**

**Chapter 3**

"_You're dead, boy," a voice snarled from the shadows. "Dead, you hear me?"_

"_Who are you?" Reid's voice quivered as he spoke._

"_None of your business, kid," the voice snarled back._

_Suddenly, a man stepped out of the shadows. Hotch couldn't see his face, only his eyes, which burned with an intensity hotter than any flame. The rest of his face was shrouded with shadows, though he stood in the intense, bright light that filled the room. It seemed to come from nowhere._

_Abruptly, he was in the room with them. Time seemed to jump ahead, and the man had a gun out. His hand didn't move as he aimed his gun directly at Reid's head. His finger tightened on the trigger._

_Hotch leapt forward, intending to take the bullet for his agent. He had to save him, he had to do something!_

_**CRACK!**_

_The bullet zoomed out of the gun's barrel. Hotch wished he was faster. He leapt forward again, but he was too late._

_Thick, red, blood gushed from the wound in Spencer's forehead. Hotch found himself frozen to the spot. A bullet couldn't make a wound that big. It just couldn't. Something was drastically wrong. Extremely, terribly, wrong..._

"_Hotch..."_

_Reid was talking to him. Hotch could barely stand to look at the younger agent. It seemed as if he was covered in blood._

"_Hotch."_

_He couldn't move. He couldn't speak. He was paralyzed with fear._

"_You're dead, boy!"_

"Hotch!"

Hotch jerked into awareness. Emily stood over him, one hand on his shoulder.

"What's going on?" Hotch sat up immediately, rubbing sleep out of his eyes.

"Nothing," Emily said. Concern was spread throughout her face. "Are you all right? You fell asleep. Rossi said to let you sleep, but you started talking."

"I don't talk in my sleep," Hotch said automatically, sitting up. "What did I miss?"

"Nothing." Hotch turned. Morgan was walking over, dropping into his seat. His face was tired, and his eyes were angry. "That was a waste of time."

"Where were you?" Hotch asked.

Morgan sighed. "JJ and I went and interviewed the night shift. They said they didn't see anyone come in or out." He scowled. "But that was about all they said. Out of the twenty questions we asked them, we got one answer. You'd think they would care a little!" His eyes flared.

Rossi came up and put a hand on Morgan's shoulder. "Calm down," he said quietly. He turned to face the rest of them. "We need to start building the profile. The sooner, the better."

Morgan and Emily turned to look at Hotch. He stared back at them for a moment before realizing they were looking to him for instruction. That startled him back to reality. "Right," he said, nodding his head. "What do we already know?"

"He's unconfident," Morgan said.

"But good," Emily put in. "No one saw him, so he's probably someone you wouldn't notice on a first look."

Rossi looked thoughtful before saying, "He's careful. The only blood we found was Reid's, and there were no fingerprints." A jolt went through Hotch at Rossi's casual mention of the agent's name, and he stiffened, staring at Rossi in surprise.

"He probably planned this days in advance," Morgan said, breaking Hotch out of his thoughts. "He knew where to stand, when Re... he would be home. He even knew which apartment he lived in."

"If he knows him," Hotch said, "he would already know where he lived. He wouldn't have to know that."

They all nodded in acknowledgment.

_Rrrring!_

They all jumped in surprise. Hotch felt his phone vibrating in his pocket and pulled it out.

"Hello?" he asked.

"Agent Hotchner?" A frightened voice came over the phone.

"Yes," Hotch said. "Who is this?"

"It's Faith Walters," came the shaky reply.

"What's going on?" Hotch asked. "Is everything okay?"

"No," Faith replied, her voice trembling. "I just heard gunshots. Something's happening. I can hear voices outside. Help!"

"We'll be right over," Hotch said. He stood up and grabbed his jacket. He motioned for the others to do the same as he pulled on his jacket. They all went for their guns.

"Ms. Walters," Hotch said seriously, "I need you to remain calm. We'll be there as soon as we can."

"Hurry!" Faith said desperately, a split second before Hotch shut the phone.

"That was Faith Walters," he said as they all headed for the cars. "She heard gunshots and called me."

They all stopped, eyes wide.

It was a moment before Morgan spoke. "We need to get over there. Now."

"That's the idea," Hotch said.

They spotted JJ as they reached the doors. "JJ!" Morgan yelled. "You're coming with us!"

JJ blinked in surprise but ran after them.

Hotch climbed into the driver's side of one of the SUV's, JJ and Rossi climbing in with him. Morgan and Emily ran to get in the other car. Hotch took off without waiting for the other car to start.

"JJ, you need to keep everyone calm," Hotch instructed. "David, when we get there, tell Morgan and Prentiss to stop anyone coming in or out of the building. Then you come with me."

* * *

Morgan climbed out of the car, jogging over to join Rossi. He quickly received Hotch's instructions, and with a nod of his head, he took off to stop the people running out of the building.

Prentiss ran up a moment later. Morgan explained their instructions with breaks in between sentences to yell at people to "Stay where you are!"

Suddenly, he spotted a dark haired man wearing a long jacket and a hat. The man sprinted for the edge of the group.

"Hey, man, stop running! We've got the situation under control!" Morgan yelled.

The man didn't stop running.

Morgan swore and ran after the man, yelling, "Hey!"

The man turned his head, and when he spotted Morgan, his eyes widened and he took off. Morgan gritted his teeth and ran after him.

"Stop!" he yelled. The man pulled out a gun and fired behind him, only turning his head halfway around to see Morgan. The shot went wide, the bullet leaving a hole in a nearby van, but Morgan didn't stop. He kept running.

Then, just as the man reached the other side of a side street, a car tall enough to block Morgan's view of the man sped around the corner, blaring rap music. When the car was out of the way, the man was gone.

Morgan swore, kicking at the wall of an old building he stood by. "Dammit!" he yelled.

Then he spotted something out of the corner of his eye. A dark hat rested on the sidewalk next to him. It was the same hat the man had been wearing. It must have fallen off as he had been running. Morgan bent over and picked it up.

'_It's not much,' _he thought. _'But it's something.'_

**A/N: Oooooh... Chase scene. What's gonna happen next? Who knows... XD**

**Off to take over the world,**

**Crazy Girl**


	5. Chapter 4

**Nine Days**

**A/N: Sorry about the wait! BeingDazzledByEdward (my awesome beta who deserves clapping right about now) was working on a project and only just got the chapter back to me. But don't blame her. Anyway, here's the chapter!  
**

**Chapter 4**

"_You're dead boy!"_

"Hey Hotch!"

Hotch turned. Morgan was walking toward him, holding the hat he had found in a bag, a file in his hand.

"We managed to get something off the hat," Morgan said. He handed Hotch the file. Hotch took it and opened it, glancing at the mug shot that stared him in the face.

"Garcia ran the fingerprints," Morgan informed him. "Apparently they belong to one Daniel Ryene **(Pronounced: rain)**. This guy's been arrested four times. All were for alleged murder, but for some reason, each time the charges were dropped. Apparently the families didn't want to know who killed their kids. Or at least, that's what they told the cops. But look at the last known place of residence."

Hotch glanced down the page, then let out a slow breath. "Reid's apartment."

"Yeah." Morgan's eyes narrowed. "We need to go back and talk to everyone on that floor who knew this guy."

Hotch nodded. "I'll get Prentiss and Rossi and we can go," he said. He stood to go find Emily.

"Hey Hotch," Morgan called after him. Hotch turned. "Who was it that was shot? I never got to get in there yesterday."

_Yesterday? _Was it really already the next day? Hotch quickly did the math in his head. Twelve days now. Twelve days.

"Hotch?" Morgan's voice startled him out of his thoughts. "You gonna answer?"

Hotch swallowed convulsively. "87-year-old Anne Flare. Shot twice. Once in the head and once in the stomach."

Morgan let out a deep breath. "So we've got an MO."

Hotch nodded, rubbing his forehead. "Yeah." He took a deep breath and called for Rossi and Prentiss to join them. Minutes later they were all in the car, absorbed in their own thoughts.

* * *

"How well did you know Anne Flare?"

Faith Walters bit her bottom lip. "I helped her out sometimes. She seemed like a grouch to most people, but she didn't get around very well, so I offered to help her with groceries and cleaning her house."

Hotch nodded. "What about this man?" He slid a picture of Daniel Ryene across the table.

Faith picked up the picture and let out a slow breath. She looked up, confused. "What does he have to do with this?"

"You know him?"

Faith nodded. "Yeah," she whispered. "He was my boyfriend."

Hotch hesitated before saying, "How long ago?"

"He..." Faith hesitated. "About three years. We met at a Christmas party I threw one year." She sucked in a deep breath. "He broke up with me eventually. He accused me of cheating on him." She looked up, staring Hotch in the eyes. "I wasn't. I cried for three days and begged for him to come back. I even apologized, though I never cheated on him. Then he moved out and I never saw him again."

"Were you aware that he was arrested four times?" Hotch asked.

Faith shook her head. "Well, he told me about one time he was spray painting a building, but that was the only time. He paid a fine and it was over with." She met Hotch's eyes again. "What does he have to do with this?" she repeated.

Hotch hesitated. "One of my agents caught him fleeing the building yesterday."

A wry smile crossed Faith's face. "Who _wasn't_ trying to get out of the building?"

"Point taken," Hotch said, though he didn't smile. "But almost everyone else stopped when my agents told them to. Ryene didn't." She flinched at his name.

"Oh." They were silent for a few moments. Finally, Faith broke the silence. "So you think Danny did it." It wasn't a question.

Hotch didn't miss that she called him by a nickname. "He's a suspect. You know that he used to live in Reid's apartment."

Faith nodded. "Yeah."

"Did anything ever happen that angered Daniel?" Hotch asked.

Faith bit her lip.

"What happened?" Hotch asked.

Faith looked away guiltily. "It was my fault," she said. "I… Danny was helping me clean my house. It was only a couple weeks after we started dating. This guy, an ex-boyfriend, stopped by. He saw Danny and jumped to conclusions. They were right, but still. Danny saw how my ex was upsetting me and got mad. I was afraid they were going to get into a fight. They were yelling really loud."

"What was your ex's name?"

"James Brownfield." Faith's voice came out in a whisper.

"He lives down the hall." Hotch recalled the unhelpful man whom he and Emily had spoken to.

"Yeah."

"Why didn't you tell us this earlier?" Hotch demanded.

Faith's eyes flashed with sudden emotion. "How was I supposed to know it had anything to do with it?" she demanded.

Hotch was surprised. He hadn't expected her to feel so strongly about it. "Sorry," he said.

Faith closed her eyes and sat back. "You really think Danny could have done this."

"Yes."

Faith closed her eyes. When she opened them, they were sad.

"You're afraid," Hotch guessed.

"Yeah, I am." Faith hesitated. "Not because my ex-boyfriend could be a killer, but because I think he really could do it."

**A/N: DUN DUN DUN! I'm kinda feeling bad for Faith right now. Two people dead on her floor, her ex living on the same floor as her, and let's not forget the possible serial killer ex. Can't forget that. XD Anyway, review!**

**Off to take over the world,**

**Crazy Girl**


End file.
